Sustainable development

Huawei highlights benchmark projects for AI digital innovation

The Chinese tech company, Huawei, has introduced over 30 global benchmark showcases at HUAWEI CONNECT 2025, highlighting how AI is reshaping digital transformation across education, healthcare, finance, government, and energy.

The company emphasised that networks have become the backbone of intelligent upgrades instead of serving only as information channels.

Among the examples, Shenzhen Welkin School presented an innovative education model to expand equitable learning opportunities. In finance, China Pacific Insurance demonstrated how its intelligent computing centre uses large-model training and inference to accelerate digital services.

Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore showcased an innovative campus network that improves the visitor experience and sets a new standard for digital innovation.

These initiatives were developed jointly by Huawei and its partners, creating replicable practices that can be applied worldwide. Leaders from Huawei and industry organisations attended the launch, underlining the collaborative nature of these projects.

The showcases will be open for on-site visits, offering customers direct insight into how AI can be integrated into networks to boost efficiency and enhance user experience.

Huawei noted that the insights gained from these projects will guide future innovations. The company and its partners aim to refine solutions and extend their applicability across various sectors by drawing on proven industry applications.

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Google boosts AI and connectivity in Africa

Google has announced new investments to expand connectivity, AI access and skills training across Africa, aiming to accelerate youth-led innovation.

The company has already invested over $1 billion in digital infrastructure, including subsea cable projects such as Equiano and Umoja, enabling 100 million people to come online for the first time. Four new regional cable hubs are being established to boost connectivity and resilience further.

Alongside infrastructure, Google will provide college students in eight African countries with a free one-year subscription to Google AI Pro. The tools, including Gemini 2.5 Pro and Guided Learning, are designed to support research, coding, and problem-solving.

By 2030, Google says it intends to reach 500 million Africans with AI-powered innovations tackling issues such as crop resilience, flood forecasting and access to education.

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JFTC study and MSCA shape Japan’s AI oversight strategy

Japan is adopting a softer approach to regulating generative AI, emphasising innovation while managing risks. Its 2025 AI Bill promotes development and safety, supported by international norms and guidelines.

The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) is running a market study on competition concerns in AI, alongside enforcing the new Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA), aimed at curbing anti-competitive practices in mobile software.

The AI Bill focuses on transparency, international cooperation, and sector-specific guidance rather than heavy penalties. Policymakers hope this flexible framework will avoid stifling innovation while encouraging responsible adoption.

The MSCA, set to be fully enforced in December 2025, obliges mobile platform operators to ensure interoperability and fair treatment of developers, including potential applications to AI tools and assistants.

With rapid AI advances, regulators in Japan remain cautious but proactive. The JFTC aims to monitor markets closely, issue guidelines as needed, and preserve a balance between competition, innovation, and consumer protection.

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Landmark tech deal secures record UK-US AI and energy investment

The UK and US have signed a landmark Tech Prosperity Deal, securing a £250 billion investment package across technology and energy sectors. The agreement includes major commitments from leading AI companies to expand data centres, supercomputing capacity, and create 15,000 jobs in Britain.

Energy security forms a core part of the deal, with plans for 12 advanced nuclear reactors in northeast England. These facilities are expected to generate power for millions of homes and businesses, lower bills, and strengthen bilateral energy resilience.

The package includes $30 billion from Microsoft and $6.8 billion from Google, alongside other AI investments aimed at boosting UK research. It also funds the country’s largest supercomputer project with Nscale, establishing a foundation for AI leadership in Europe.

American firms have pledged £150 billion for UK projects, while British companies will invest heavily in the US. Pharmaceutical giant GSK has committed nearly $30 billion to American operations, underlining the cross-Atlantic nature of the partnership.

The Tech Prosperity Deal follows a recent UK-US trade agreement that removes tariffs on steel and aluminium and opens markets for key exports. The new accord builds on that momentum, tying economic growth to innovation, deregulation, and frontier technologies.

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Intel to design custom CPUs as part of NVIDIA AI partnership

The two US tech firms, NVIDIA and Intel, have announced a major partnership to develop multiple generations of AI infrastructure and personal computing products.

They say that the collaboration will merge NVIDIA’s leadership in accelerated computing with Intel’s expertise in CPUs and advanced manufacturing.

For data centres, Intel will design custom x86 CPUs for NVIDIA, which will be integrated into the company’s AI platforms to power hyperscale and enterprise workloads.

In personal computing, Intel will create x86 system-on-chips that incorporate NVIDIA RTX GPU chiplets, aimed at delivering high-performance PCs for a wide range of consumers.

As part of the deal, NVIDIA will invest $5 billion in Intel common stock at $23.28 per share, pending regulatory approvals.

NVIDIA’s CEO Jensen Huang described the collaboration as a ‘fusion of two world-class platforms’ that will accelerate computing innovation, while Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the partnership builds on decades of x86 innovation and will unlock breakthroughs across industries.

The move underscores how AI is reshaping both infrastructure and personal computing. By combining architectures and ecosystems instead of pursuing separate paths, Intel and NVIDIA are positioning themselves to shape the next era of computing at a global scale.

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Researchers for OpenAI and Apollo find scheming behaviour in frontier AI models

OpenAI and Apollo Research developed evaluations to reveal hidden misalignment in advanced AI systems, often labelled scheming, and observed scheming-like behaviour in several frontier models, including OpenAI o3, o4-mini, Gemini 2.5 pro and Claude Opus-4.

Researchers treated covert actions, such as deliberately withholding or distorting task-relevant information, as a measurable proxy and stress-tested models across dozens of scenarios.

Scheming occurs when a model outwardly appears aligned while pursuing an alternate goal. The teams used a trader analogy to explain the risk: a rule-breaking broker who covers tracks can seem more compliant than an honest operator who accepts lower gains.

They trained models with deliberative alignment to counter the behaviour, asking them to read and reason about an anti-scheming specification before acting. Hence, models follow safety principles instead of merely avoiding detection.

That training produced about a thirtyfold reduction in covert actions on out-of-distribution tests, with o3 falling from 13 percent to 0.4 percent and o4-mini dropping from 8.7 percent to 0.3 percent.

Nevertheless, rare but serious failures remained, and measurement proved complex. Models often became more aware of being evaluated, and situational awareness can suppress observable scheming without altering underlying aims.

The study relied heavily on access to the models’ chain of thought to probe motivations, so preserving reasoning transparency is crucial for reliable oversight. The teams warned that training practices eroding transparency could make monitoring far harder and let misalignment hide rather than vanish.

OpenAI and Apollo called for broader cross-lab safety evaluations, stronger monitoring tools and continued research into anti-scheming techniques. They renewed their partnership, launched a $500,000 red-teaming challenge focused on scheming and proposed shared testing protocols.

The researchers emphasised there is no evidence that today’s deployed AI models would abruptly begin harmful scheming. Still, the risk will grow as systems take on more ambiguous, long-term, real-world responsibilities instead of short, narrow tasks.

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Google adds AI features to Chrome browser on Android and desktop

Alphabet’s Google has announced new AI-powered features for its Chrome browser that aim to make web browsing more proactive instead of reactive. The update centres on integrating Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, into Chrome to provide contextual support across tabs and tasks.

The AI assistant will help students and professionals manage large numbers of open tabs by summarising articles, answering questions, and recalling previously visited pages. It will also connect with Google services such as Docs and Calendar, offering smoother workflows on desktop and mobile devices.

Chrome’s address bar, the omnibox, is being upgraded with AI Mode. Users can ask multi-part questions and receive context-aware suggestions relevant to the page they are viewing. Initially available in the US, the feature will roll out to other regions and languages soon.

Beyond productivity, Google is also applying AI to security and convenience. Chrome now blocks billions of spam notifications daily, fills in login details, and warns users about malicious apps.

Future updates are expected to bring agentic capabilities, enabling Chrome to carry out complex tasks such as ordering groceries with minimal user input.

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Microsoft builds the world’s most powerful AI data centre in Wisconsin

US tech giant, Microsoft, is completing the construction of Fairwater in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, which it says will be the world’s most powerful AI data centre. The facility is expected to be operational in early 2026 after a $3.3 billion investment, with an additional $4 billion now committed for a second site.

The company says the project will help shape the next generation of AI by training frontier models with hundreds of thousands of NVIDIA GPUs, offering ten times the performance of today’s fastest supercomputers.

Beyond technology, Microsoft is highlighting the impact on local jobs and skills. Thousands of construction workers have been employed during the build, while the site is expected to support around 500 full-time roles when the first phase opens, rising to 800 once the second is complete.

The US giant has also launched Wisconsin’s first Datacentre Academy with Gateway Technical College to prepare students for careers in the digital economy.

Microsoft is also stressing its sustainability measures. The data centre will rely on a closed-loop liquid cooling system and outside air to minimise water use, while all fossil-fuel power consumed will be matched with carbon-free energy.

A new 250 MW solar farm is under construction in Portage County to support the commitment. The company has partnered with local organisations to restore prairie and wetland habitats, further embedding the project into the surrounding community.

Executives say the development represents more than just an investment in AI. It signals a long-term commitment to Wisconsin’s economy, education, and environment.

From broadband expansion to innovation labs, the company aims to ensure the benefits of AI extend to local businesses, students, and residents instead of remaining concentrated in global hubs.

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Xbox app introduces Microsoft’s AI Copilot in beta

Microsoft has launched the beta version of Copilot for Gaming, an AI-powered assistant within the Xbox mobile app for iOS and Android. The early rollout covers over 50 regions, including India, the US, Japan, Australia, and Singapore.

Access is limited to users aged 18 and above, and the assistant currently supports English instead of other languages, with broader language support expected in future updates.

Copilot for Gaming is a second-screen companion, allowing players to stay informed and receive guidance without interrupting console gameplay.

The AI can track game activity, offer context-aware responses, suggest new games based on play history, check achievements, and manage account details such as Game Pass renewal and gamer score.

Users can ask questions like ‘What was my last achievement in God of War Ragnarok?’ or ‘Recommend an adventure game based on my preferences.’

Microsoft plans to expand Copilot for Gaming beyond chat-based support into a full AI gaming coach. Future updates could provide real-time gameplay advice, voice interaction, and direct console integration, allowing tasks such as downloading or installing games remotely instead of manually managing them.

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AI tool combines breast cancer and heart disease screening

Scientists from Australian universities and The George Institute for Global Health have developed an AI tool that analyses mammograms and a woman’s age to predict her risk of heart-related hospitalisation or death within 10 years.

Published in Heart on 17 September, the study highlights the lack of routine heart disease screening for women, despite cardiovascular conditions causing 35% of female deaths. The tool delivers a two-in-one health check by integrating heart risk prediction into breast cancer screening.

The model was trained on data from over 49,000 women and performs as accurately as traditional models that require blood pressure and cholesterol data. Researchers emphasise its low-resource nature, making it viable for broad deployment in rural or underserved areas.

Study co-author Dr Jennifer Barraclough said mobile mammography services could adopt the tool to deliver breast cancer and heart health screenings in one visit. Such integration could help overcome healthcare access barriers in remote regions.

Next, before a broader rollout, the researchers plan to validate the tool in more diverse populations and study practical challenges, such as technical requirements and regulatory approvals.

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